iPhone will ship in green packaging — Apple's new iPhone 3G will be shipped on July 11 in a potato starch paper tray. Apple placed an order with Dutch company PaperFoam, which also makes packages for Motorola. — The company confirmed this today to Dutch blog Bright.

Google and Creator of ‘Family Guy’ Strike a Deal — LOS ANGELES — Google is experimenting with a new method of distributing original material on the Web, and some Hollywood film financiers are betting millions that the company will succeed. — In September, Seth MacFarlane, creator of …

Microsoft to stop selling Windows XP on Monday — REDMOND, Wash. - Microsoft Corp. is scheduled to stop selling its Windows XP operating system to retailers and major computer makers Monday, despite protests from a slice of PC users who don't want to be forced into using XP's successor, Vista.

Goodbye, XP. Hello, Midori — June 30 is the day that Microsoft begins phasing out Windows XP by no longer providing copies of the operating system to PC makers and retailers for preloading on new machines. It's also a good day (thanks to a recent New York Times opinion piece) …

Marc Andreessen Joins Facebook's Board Of Directors — Marc Andreessen, founder of Netscape, Opsware and Ning and the former CTO of AOL, is adding a new notch in his belt: he has joined the board of directors of Facebook, two sources close to the company confirmed to us …

Sony to bring the social to PlayStation 3 with firmware 2.40 — While the PlayStation 3 has gone through an impressive metamorphosis since release, the social aspects of the system still leave much to be desired: there is no good way to communicate to people on your friends list across different games …

Lenovo announces its first desktop, IdeaCentre K210 — Today marks a new day for Lenovo with the announcement of its first desktop, the IdeaCentre K210. For all intents and purposes, it's just a desktop but it pulls a couple things from the laptop line that are unique and cool, like Veriface facial recognition technology.

Asustek to launch new Eee PCs with bigger keyboards — Asustek Computer is planning to launch new Eee PC models, the 904 and 905, which have an 8.9-inch panel but use a similar chassis and keyboard as the company's 10.2-inch models, according to sources at channel vendors.

Online Encyclopedia Gets New Push From Discovery — On the Internet, there's an answer to every question — even “how are marshmallows made?” and “how do toilets work?” The Web site HowStuffWorks wants to remind television viewers and Web visitors that it knows how.

Tech Giants Join Together To Head Off Patent Suits — Several tech-industry heavyweights are banding together to defend themselves against patent-infringement lawsuits. Their plan: to buy up key intellectual property before it falls into the hands of parties that could use it against them, say people familiar with the matter.